1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording medium for use as a data storage and a tape driving apparatus accommodating a tape cassette as such recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
A so-called tape streaming drive has been known as a driving apparatus which is capable of recording/reproducing digital data to/from a magnetic tape. Although it depends on the length of the tape of the tape cassette, i.e., a medium, the tape streaming drive is capable of having an enormous amount of recording capacity of several tens to several hundreds giga bytes for example. Therefore, it is widely used for backing up data recorded in a medium such as a hard disk of a computer main body. It is also considered to be suitable for use in storing image data or the like whose data size is large.
Then, as the tape streaming drive as described above, there has been proposed one which is arranged so as to record/reproduce data by using a tape cassette of an 8 mm VTR as a recording medium and by adopting a helical scan scheme by means of a rotary head for example.
The tape streaming drive is arranged so as to allow the user to form a required number of and capacity of partitions on the magnetic tape of the tape cassette by initializing the magnetic tape.
Then, a management information recording area of a predetermined size in which various usage history information (or may be called management information) corresponding to the whole magnetic tape or the present partition is stored is formed at the head in each partition formed by the initialization. The tape streaming drive can record/reproduce data to/from the magnetic tape adequately by reproducing and obtaining the information recorded in the management information recording area.
By the way, no area for storing information indicating a number of times of initialization implemented on that magnetic tape has not been set in the management information recording area as history information on that magnetic tape.
It has been because the management information recording area which had been formed corresponding to partitions formed in advance must be also erased in restructuring the partitions and the management information recording area contained therein by the initialization. That is, the management information recording area is created a new every time when the initialization is carried out. Therefore, the tape streaming drive must have obtained the history information up to then in the stage before the initialization in order to record the management information accumulated regarding to the magnetic tape like the information indicating the number of times of initialization accurately in the management information recording area. However, its realization has been unrealistic because it is difficult technologically due to the limit of a memory and to the temporal limit for accessing to the whole management information recording area on the magnetic tape.
For instance, some user may naturally desire to grasp a number of times of initialization implemented on a specific tape cassette (magnetic tape) because it is considered that a magnetic tape on which initialization has been implemented by several times is liable to be damaged as compared to one initialized only once.
However, when no information on the number of times of initialization is stored in the tape cassette (magnetic tape) as described above, the user must write the number of times of initialization implemented on that tape cassette on something in order to grasp the number of times.
Thus, the tape streaming drive has had a problem that it is unable to manage the tape cassette fully because it had no information indicating the number of times of initialization implemented on the magnetic tape as usage the history information regarding to the tape cassette.
In view of the problem described above, it is an object of the invention to enable to tighten the management on a tape cassette used for storing data further. Specifically, a primary object of the invention is to allow the user to manage a number of times of initialization implemented on a magnetic tape.
To this end, a storage area for storing information on a number of times of initialization indicating a number of times of initialization implemented on a magnetic tape is set in a memory as information not initialized along the initialization implemented on the magnetic tape in an inventive recording medium comprising a tape cassette in which the magnetic tape is stored and the memory for storing management information for managing a recording/reproducing operation to/from the magnetic tape.
An inventive tape driving apparatus comprises tape driving means for recording/reproducing information to/from the magnetic tape when the tape cassette in which the magnetic tape is stored is loaded; memory driving means for reading/writing management information from/to the memory for storing management information for managing the recording/reproducing operation to/from the magnetic tape when it is provided in the loaded tape cassette; initializing means for initializing the magnetic tape of the loaded tape cassette; and control means for controlling the memory driving means so as to update the information on a number of times of initialization in correspondence to the initialization executed by the initializing means when the information on a number of times of initialization indicating a number of times of initialization implemented to the magnetic tape is stored in the memory of the loaded tape cassette as information not initialized along the initialization implemented on the magnetic tape.
Another inventive tape driving apparatus comprises tape driving means for recording/reproducing information to/from the magnetic tape when the tape cassette in which the magnetic tape is stored is loaded and memory driving means for reading/writing management information from/to the memory for storing management information for managing the recording/reproducing operation to/from the magnetic tape when it is provided in the loaded tape cassette. The memory driving means detects at least information on a number of times of initialization when the information on a number of times of initialization indicating a number of times of initialization implemented to the magnetic tape is stored in the memory of the loaded tape cassette as information not initialized along the initialization implemented on the magnetic tape.
According to the configuration described above, the information on a number of times of initialization indicating a number of times of initialization implemented to the magnetic tape of the tape cassette is stored in the memory device provided in the tape cassette as management information. Thereby, it becomes possible to grasp the number of times of initialization implemented to the magnetic tape of the tape cassette.